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If you've registered for Amazon Prime shipping, you know you can get something fast (two day FREE). I needed a set of batteries, and instead of going to my usual over seas and 4 weeks waiting store, I took a chance on the Vivitar branded version. Yeah I know they probably don't make them and who knows what they are really called. It charges on OEM, shows battery, the camera registers battery information, and seems to be doing fine (so far). We'll see how it holds up, but at least the price was about the same as elsewhere, and claims a 5 year warranty.

Jag35 has got a new LP-E6 battery mounting adapter. What is it? It's a simple way to use your existing Canon LP-E6 batteries to power up devices that use 5V-9V DC. This includes powering up your portable little HDMI monitors and even the Asus WiCast for HD Streaming (project I was working on). Oh and maybe even power up a small motor for the new slider? Hmm..They also have additional cables and regulators to step down the voltage if needed, but a complete solution based around existing rechargeable batteries you already have. It's got a standard 1/4 x 20 thread in the rear to make it easier to mount to stuff.

Now that the Canon 60D has had time to hit the streets, emails are coming with questions about the Canon BGE9 Battery Grip. Unfortunately it's still too early for something aftermarket, but here's a closer look at the pricier Canon BG-E9 OEM grip.

For those who were wondering about how much extra height this grip adds to the DSLR body, I have two Canon 60D's side by side. Buttons and switches are similar to other Battery Grip models, but the most different feature is that it uses the LP-E6 batteries (same as 5DMarkII & &D), but loads the battery tray in from the sides like a Canon T2i. When they said they would make a camera in between the T2i and 7D, they weren't kidding.

The fact that the Canon 60D uses the same batteries as the 5D Mark II & Canon 7D was both a blessing and a curse. For those who already had these batteries, it's nice not having a different set of batteries and charger to add to your gear list. A single OEM LP-E6 will run you well over $70 dollars. For those who are looking to buy extra ones, prices on aftermarket LP-E6 batteries seem to have inflated. There was one brand on Amazon that dropped their decoded (chipped batteries that communicate with camera to show battery life) batteries down to $18.00 dollars, but now brought them back up to $60 bucks!. Yeah they know that there's a new market out for these batteries after the Canon 60D release.

If you don't care about the battery meter, there's plenty of Aftermarket LP-E6 batteries that run around (2)pcs. for $15 dollars. Very very cheap, but they will need their own charger. It's not suggested these be charged on the OEM charger. I think I have 6 of those myself which still run to this day, and are probably a year old or more.

I was still waiting for more reviews on these items to see if they will actually work well and hold up as good batteries, and if the battery meter really works. A friend of mine has a wedding lined up on 10/10/10 - of course the most popular wedding day this year, and so he's invested into the Maxtek Replacement Li-ion Battery For Canon. He's had it a short while and seems to work exactly like OEM, and charges on the OEM charger (can't do this with un-chipped batteries). I've asked him to give us a demo video of the batteries in use, but he says they work exactly the same. This battery is compatible with the Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 7D, and Canon 60D.

I'm pretty happy Canon continued to support the LP-E6 battery with many of their camera models. It helps to be able to keep things uniform. I've had about 6 aftermarket LP-E6 batteries that i've been using for my Canon 5D Mark II & 7D shown in this video here: http://cheesycam.com/canon-5d-mark-ii-7d-cheap-china-batteries/. I'm a big fan of these batteries and have used them for quite a while without a hiccup. The problem was that when these were first released, they didn't have the option to show battery life on the camera due to a special information chip. It's about time I grabbed some additional batteries and if i'm not mistaken the new Canon 60D on order will also be using the LP-E6 battery type. Now that i'm in the market for some extra batteries, these newer LP-E6 aftermarket batteries are already chipped properly to show battery life with the Canon DSLR's. Here's the link to the proper LP-E6 aftermarket batteries that should read proper battery life with your Canon DSLR's. Canon 5D Mark II & 7D batteries chipped to show Battery Life.

Most people might not remember this, but long ago Digital Cameras used standard AA batteries, not rechargeable Lithiums. Battery technology was poor and run time was terrible, so you really tried not reviewing your images on the LCD. I remember owning an older camera that had the option to plug into an AC outlet. The brick converted AC back into DC for the camera. So I fashioned up a relative Voltage RC Car battery as my mobile power source. Worked great, dirt cheap, fast recharging, and lasted much longer than AA batteries. Ask around, you'll be surprised how many photographers are using RC car batteries for many projects.

Note: Don't follow my Lead. This could be a disastrous project.
My mind is wandering and I'm going to stir up some thought here about a possible DIY power pack for the Canon 5D Mark II. Taking a peek at the Swintronix PowerBase 70, I believe it has a rating for 14 volts but the Canon LP-E6 Battery is only rated at 7.2 volts. This sounds like there are (2) 7 volt batteries in this PowerBase. The 14 volts can be offered if these two 7 volt batteries are run in Series. Extended run times can be offered if these two 7 volt batteries are run in Parallel.

Here's the simple parts needed for a possible DIY Power Pack for the Canon 5D Mark II or 7D. First a way to connect power into the Camera. Available is an aftermarket ACK-E6 AC Power Adapter designed specifically for LP-E6 cameras like the 5D Mark II & 7D. This very specific adapter seperates from the 'Brick' leaving you with a simple adapter, not to be confused with the ones that don't seperate from the power brick. I won't need the brick, just the Battery adapter part with short wire lead.

click image

Second, just one 7.4v Lithium Rechargeable Battery will do the job powering up the camera, but if I want longer run times, i'll need to run two 7.4v batteries in Parallel. The single Canon LP-E6 Battery is rated at approx 7v 1800mah -aftermarket batteries around 1500mah. To make this worth carrying around, each 7.4v battery should have at least twice the milliamp hour rating if not more. The battery image below shows almost double the milliamp hour rating from the stock battery, so it's possible it may last twice as long.click image

Outside of those two parts, i'd need to take a short trip to Radio Shack for some wire adapter to mate the two, a decent looking electronics project box for the enclosure, and 7.4v battery charger for RC cars to recharge. I think it's quite possible to create a DIY Power Pack for the Canon 5D Mark II or 7D for a Total price roughly under $125 dollars. I really don't see why I need to make something like this, i'm just thinking out loud as usual.